The March Sisters in Arkham
by eriley74
Summary: During the Busy Bee Society picnic, while on vacation in the Lovecraftian town of Arkham, the March sisters encounter a series of adventures in an enchanted, underground world, as they deal with extraterrestrial beings, a sinister baron, and fairies. Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the works of Louisa May Alcott, or of H.P. Lovecraft.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1-The Cavern beneath Hangman's Hill**

"A picnic isn't a picnic without some sort of adventure," said Jo, standing at the mouth of a cave situated behind and beneath the Wooded Graveyard near the base of Hangman's Hill.

"Josephine March," Meg, Jo's older sister, asked, "would you have us to explore the cave where Harriet Fitzgerald disappeared, three years ago? Do you not believe the entrance to the cave was covered with a woodpile, and surrounded by these stone crosses, for a reason? What if it's haunted by her spirit?"

"Or, what if the rumors are true," Amy, the youngest, said, "you know, about unearthly powers or demonic farces taking her, body and soul? Or, maybe she was sanctified during a Black Mass? Who's to say it won't happen to us?"

"Oh, come on," Jo said. "Do you really believe the stories from the eccentric locals, including Aunt Eloise and Uncle Ezra? Why, I would imagine if you were to go over to the University, they would deny the silly stories surrounding this area. We should consider ourselves blessed that we didn't have to holiday in Dunwich, where the truly strange people live. Anyhow, maybe Harriet fell into a gorge, or she got lost and died, or she came to her senses, and ran away from this strange town, concocting a story about the mysterious disappearance, and moved to some ordinary, provincial town like Providence. What say you, Beth? We don't want to leave you out of this order of business of the Busy Bee Society."

"I'm not sure Marmee would approve of us going into the cave," she answered. "We told her we would only go on a picnic—she wasn't particularly happy about us having lunch near a cemetery—and it would grieve her so if anything were to happen."

"Oh, but I _did_ tell Marmee that this hill had a lovely view of the Miskatonic River, its island, and the railroad on the opposite bank, for sketching," Amy said.

"Please, Meg?" Jo asked. "May we look around for a few minutes? Then, we can sit down to lunch, and perhaps I'll have some inspiration for a romantic new story."

"Only for a few minutes," Meg answered, tugging at her curls. "Marmee would be sore vexed with us if anything happened to the younger ones, and I don't want to ruin my new dress."

The March sisters stood at the entrance of the cave, situated two blocks south of their Uncle Ezra and Aunt Eloise's home, on the corner of Hill St. and Pickman St., in the city of Arkham, Massachusetts. After Papa left home to join the war effort, Mrs. March accepted the invitation from her sister and brother-in-law to spend a week with them, along with her daughters, and their servant, Hannah, in hopes it would let the girls forget about their father going off to war. On Tuesday of the week, Marmee gave the girls permission to conduct their Busy Bee Society summer picnic, and Aunt Eloise suggested they spend their day on Hangman's Hill, for it was perfectly safe during the day. Despite Marmee's discomfort with the idea of an unchaperoned picnic on a hill with a reputation for Black Masses and supernatural activity, the girls packed their knapsacks with Meg's book of stories of the women of the Bible, Amy's sketchpads, Jo's papers and pens, Beth's knitting supplies, and Uncle Ezra's spyglass (for viewing the city), while Aunt Eloise and Hannah filled a basket with ham sandwiches, muffins, lemonade, and four tin cups. They donned their felt sunhats, thanked Aunt Eloise and Uncle Ezra for the food and the supplies, kissed Marmee and Hannah good-bye, and made their way to the grove.

About mid-morning, Meg was reading the story of Vashti and Esther to Beth, who was working on her knitting, and Amy, with a clothespin on her nose (in hope of improving its shape) was sketching the river and the island. Jo, who was dealing with a bad case of writer's block regarding her romantic novel involving a princess and a poor solider, tossed aside her notebook, and took a walk. Her steps led her to the Wooded Graveyard, replete with gothic, moldy tombstones dated as early as the 17th century. The scents of ancient trees, and decaying earth, weighed down on the silent cemetery like the large vaults and tombstones sunk into the earth. Jo crossed her arms, trying to keep warm in the deep shadows of the plot of tombstones where babies and young children were buried. The graveyard seemed to turn icy when she came upon the field of unmarked graves, where (according to Uncle Ezra) the bodies of the condemned where tossed, without last rites, including suspected witches from the Salem witch trial period, as well as recent prisoners who were executed, on the gallows at the top of the hill, where the paved pathway concluded.

"No, by George", she said to herself, rubbing her arms briskly, "I will not turn go back, and be teased by the other girls. That would be a worse fate than running into any restless spirits in this creepy old cemetery. Let's see where this faded trail, on the right, takes me."

As she exited the woods, at the northwest corner of the graveyard, Jo noticed a peculiar notch in the hill, off to her left. She made her way slightly downhill until she came to the head of the notch, and was surprised at the sight before her: The gorge, within the notch, was filled with seven stone crosses, each crowned with old candles, and marked with one of the seven colors of the rainbow. She walked into the gorge, past a large, flat boulder which looked blood-stained, and saw a woodpile at the end of the notch, with a wooden cross nailed into the hillside. She tossed aside the limbs, until she uncovered a small cavern.

"Oh, golly!" Jo exclaimed. "We can have a proper adventure for our picnic, today. I must run back, and bring the others here."

"Is anyone surprised we haven't seen any living creatures, either in here, or around this place, other than the fat tabby tomcat?" Meg asked, standing outside the entrance, while the other sisters explored.

"No," Amy answered, from within the cave, "and I don't understand why you're so scared, Margaret, for this doesn't go very far, at all. I would call this more of a ghetto than a cave."

"While I would call this a _grotto,_" Beth said, "I don't know what to make of this flat rock, in the middle of this place. It's clearly blood-stained…perhaps Black Masses have been performed here…oh, how I wish that cat had kept us company! Jo, why did you bring us here? You should've listened to Meg."

"It's still late morning," she replied. "Nothing is going to happen to us in broad daylight. Well, except perhaps we'll stand around and laugh at the oldest sister for refusing to look around, on the grounds she doesn't want to ruin her pretty dress. Meg is truly the mother chicken of the March sisters."

Stomping into the notch, while arching her eyebrows at Jo, Meg took the picnic basket, and dropped in on the center of the supposed sacrificial altar. She laid out a tablecloth, pulled out four sandwiches, the carafe of lemonade, and the four tin cups. With a snap of her fingers, the "mother chicken" summoned her sisters to lunch.

"Do you expect us to eat off of that instrument of sin?" Amy asked, as Beth, clutching her favorite doll, struggled to stifle a sob.

"What in the world has gotten into you, sister?" Jo asked.

"You're not the only one who can act decisively, Josephine March," Meg answered. "I will not be called a coward while our Papa is off to war. The evils he will face, from the blood-thirsty Rebels, are far too real for us to trifle with fairy tales and local superstitions. Whatever may have happened to Miss Fitzgerald—indeed, to any poor soul in this cave—will not diminish our Christian gathering one iota. We will take this vile altar out of the hands of the Devil, and lift up our simple repast to the Lord our God."

The girls joined hands, and offered up their prayers, most especially for Papa. They ate and drank with solemnness, all of them worried about their father and the struggles that laid ahead of him in the fight to preserve the Union, but yet, each one secretly disturbed about breaking bread on unhallowed ground.

Meg broke the cathedral silence, after fifteen minutes, by blurting out, "My goodness, where is that draft of air coming from? It feels pleasant within the staleness of this grotto."

"My invalid doll is enjoying it so very much," Beth said. "Fresh air does wonders for my little darling. She is truly enjoying—"

"Christopher Columbus!" Jo screamed. "There's a secret passage in the wall behind you, Meg! The draft must be coming from the open doorway. Pardon me for interrupting, my dear Beth."

The girls jumped up, scared and excited. Jo was the first at the doorway. She peered into the passage, and said, "Hey, there's an illuminated cavern, down here, complete with a staircase. Now the adventure really begins." Grabbing her knapsack, she continued, "Oh, gee, girls, isn't this so romantic? A quest—a journey—for the Busy Bee Society."

"Absolutely not, Josephine," Meg said. "It is far too dangerous to go down there. We don't have the proper equipment for cave exploration, and I am not going to endanger the little ones—Come back here at once, Jo!"

Jo thumbed her nose at Meg, whipped her long chestnut brown hair around her shoulders, and descended into the cavern. The others looked at each other, each wondering what to do next, when Jo yelled out, and "Come down here. The brook behind Aunt and Uncle's house continues on, and…and…there's a city…_and a palace_!"

Beth looked back at Meg, shrugged her shoulders, grabbed her knapsack, and descended into the cavern. Meg and Amy stood stock still, wondering at Beth's boldness.

"I suppose I'll ruin my new slippers," Amy said, as she packed up the partially eaten sandwiches and the lemonade, "but we can't let the others go off by themselves. You best take care of your dress. That shade of pink looks marvelous on you."

"Thank you," Meg said, tossing the tin cups in the basket. "At least _you_ have good taste in fine fashion. We better bring our picnic along, in case we find ourselves delayed by Jo's adventure. Shall we join our insane sister in tilting with underground windmills?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2—The Abandoned City**

Picnic basket in hand, and knapsacks over shoulders, Meg and Amy descended the stone staircase. The descent began smoothly enough, with the girls refreshed by the coolness of the cave, and energized about the idea of an underground palace.

"It's simply extraordinary," Amy said. "This staircase looks to be the work of human hands…or, at least, I hope it was crafted by humans."

"It's quite exquisite," Meg said, "although, it seems to drop off sharply—Amy, watch out!" Amy, too preoccupied with the artistic beauty of the subterranean stairs, missed the steep decline, and fell flat on her face.

"Watch that step, about halfway down," Jo cried, after the fact, staring at something ahead of her, instead of looking over her shoulder to see who fell. "Poor Bethy nearly turned her ankle on the sharp drop-off."

"Well, thanks for the warning," Amy cried back, as Meg helped her up onto her feet. "I nearly flattened the rest of my nose into my face."

When the girls reached the base of the staircase, astonished by the light in the cavern, they heard flowing water, and found a stream behind them, which curved around towards the base of the staircase, and filled up a pool inlaid with emeralds, before disappearing below the stairs. They did not have long to consider the stream, as Jo grabbed Meg by the arm, and pointed wildly. Off in the distance, the girls could see part of what appeared to be a palace. It was unlike any palace or castle they had ever seen in their fairy-tale books, but the Busy Bee Society unanimously declared it a palace. From where they stood, it appeared to be made of solid gold, shaped like a giant, inverted trapezoid, and it had no windows so far as they knew, for their view was partially blocked by an enormous pillar.

"We absolutely must see this marvel, before we go back up," Meg said. "It looks so beautiful, even in this cavern."

"I agree," Jo said, "but I think Beth would like us to have a look at this town, first. I don't know if there's anyone here or not, but it couldn't hurt to explore the environs of the palace, first."

On their right, between the stream and the pillar, stood a stone town. Meg walked up several steps, and counted seventy small houses in all: seven columns laid out into ten rows, with each column of houses having a different color of the rainbow painted on the rooftops. A broken fountain stood in the center of town, where Beth waited for the others to join her.

When Meg returned, the March sisters walked along the rows and columns of the houses. They were all uniform in layout and in appearance: square abodes built of plain brown stone, each with a main room, and two smaller rooms in the back, and all lacking any signs of life. They met up at the broken fountain, perplexed with the abandoned town.

"Was this once a rainbow?" Beth asked, sliding her hand over the arch topping the well. "I imagine it must have been a most exquisite fountain, but now it's as lifeless as this town."

"And what are these seven figures along the arch?" Jo asked.

"It's hard to tell," Amy said. "They look like they've been worn away by Time, but were carved into fairies, perhaps? Isn't it romantic to wonder what kind of people or civilization lived down here?"

"I can only imagine what lies within the palace," Meg said. "Do you think they left any signs of their world in their golden mansion? This is the mission for the Busy Bee Society."

"You didn't want to come down here," Amy said, "and now, you would have us be agnostics, so you can explore the pretty palace?"

"Oh, but won't it be fun to be _archeologists_?" Jo asked. "I'm glad Meg has improved her attitude about our situation, and is willing to be a good sport about the adventure."

"Could we go back to the staircase, and rest?" Beth asked. "I could use a drink of water, before we carry on."

"That is wise advice, my dear sister," Meg said. "Let us return to our camp, at the brook, and have a brief repose. But, first, we must have a volunteer for tasting the water."

"Or for determining what kind of creature is flying over our heads," Jo said, pointing up to the ceiling. The girls followed Jo's gaze and beheld a being that looked like a cross between a bat and a devil ray they had seen in a nautical encyclopedia in Aunt March's library. Its underside was milky white and had a human face. The creature hovered over the girls, studying them intently, for several minutes. They stood motionless, clinging to one another, paralyzed by fear and curiosity, yet wondered why it drifted away as silently as it had appeared.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3—Jo's Shocking Behavior is Observed**

Returning from their exploration of the empty town, still unnerved by the peculiar creature, the girls returned to their camp, at the base of the stone staircase. On the way back, after a heated discussion over who should be first to taste the water, they decided to draw lots. After Amy refused to give up her blue hair ribbon (which was the largest of the four, and complemented her white calico dress with blue flowers), Jo volunteered hers, as an excuse for letting down her long, chestnut-brown hair. Meg tore Jo's ribbon into three large strands and one small strand. She held the strands in her fists, and the others drew lots.

"Oh, Christopher Columbus," Jo exclaimed, "naturally, I would draw the short lot."

Amy drew out a tin cup from the picnic basket, and handed it to Jo. "Go on, sis. Take a drink for the rest of us."

Jo walked to the stream, barely able to hold the cup steady. She gingerly set the cup in the water within the emerald tub, slightly below the surface. Bracing herself, and holding her breath, she took a sip.

"Well, it's not terrible," she said. "It's a little warm, but it tastes alright."

"Does your stomach hurt?" Meg asked.

"No, not at all," Jo answered, taking a full swig out of the cup. The other ran over to the stream, taking drinks out of the cups of their hands. Amy was finished after one drink, but Beth and Meg took several handfuls each.

"I only wish I could give a cupful of water to Papa, right now," Beth said. She turned to Meg, buried her face into her oldest sister's shoulder, and sobbed.

"I feel the same way, darling," Meg said. "Papa is off on a more serious adventure. He is helping to preserve our nation by fighting the Rebels. We can only continue to pray for his protection, and for the unity of this country."

"I should like to make etchings of this strange place, and let him tell us his thoughts on the matter," Amy said, wiping away a few tears of her own.

"Gee, this water is just right for taking a swim, and the emerald-studded pool looks so inviting," Jo said, stepping behind a large boulder next to the staircase, oblivious to the ensuing conversation.

"That would be lovely," Amy said, "but we don't want to get our undergarments wet, do we? Wouldn't we have a time explaining that to Marmee?"

"Besides, do we really want to swim in a cave?" Beth asked. "It's so dirty in here, and we don't want to ruin our clothes."

"So, don't bother with clothes," Jo called out from behind the boulder.

Meg, seeing Amy's horrified expression, turned around, saw Jo's dress and chemise draped on the boulder, and said, "Now, what in the world are you doing? Jo—_Josephine March!_"

Jo, tossing her drawers over the boulder, and onto Meg's head, reappeared from behind the boulder, naked, causing Amy to shriek and Beth to faint into Meg's arms, after nearly bashing her head against the staircase.

"Look at what you've done," Meg scolded, flinging the drawers back at Jo, "I don't care if we are in a cave in some other world, hussy! We are still young Christian women, and we don't go showing off our nakedness. At least put your chemise on, at any rate, if you absolutely must bathe!"

"Aw, come on," Jo protested, "We're the only ones here, and there are no boys. You've got the same anatomy as I do, and a good bit more of it. You know, you're looking more and more like Marmee every day, Margaret dearest. I have one word for you, darling: corset!"

"I'll thank you to address your immodesty, and not my plumpness," Meg said.

"Here's some water for poor Beth," Amy said, returning from the stream while trying to avert her eyes from Jo, for she was trying very hard not to laugh at her naked sister. "You know, Jo, you'd never make it as an artist's model, in Europe. You're much too skinny. Their models are full-bodied, like Meg."

"Don't you mean full-figured?" Meg said, as Jo jumped into the stream. "I am a young woman, almost 15, not a bottle of beer, and besides, what do _you_ know about such things, Amy?"

"Mr. Davis, my teacher, keeps a sketchbook of European paintings in his desk. They have lots of pictures with nudes in them, women and men. They're quite beautiful, such as _The Turkish Bath _and _The Birth of Venus_, unlike some of the obscene postcards those horrid Irish boys, who live next to the school, show us at recess. It makes me blush with shame when I think about them."

"Let us not talk of such things," Beth said, coming to her senses, and then, turning her head away from the stream, as Jo re-emerged from the water. "Marmee would not approve of such idle talks about nudity or beer, and as for you, Jo…well, Mother would be most disappointed with your unladylike behavior."

"Jo, either stay in the water or get dressed," Meg said. "You are not some Bostonian prostitute who can do whatever she pleases, with no regard for either Christian or womanly morality. Beth's right, you know. Mother would be very cross with you. Can you not be decent in the presence of your little sisters?"

"Why should I," Jo demanded, "when our baby sister has seen inappropriate sketches and postcards? Again, I don't have anything she hasn't seen before. Why does render me a prostitute in your uppity, Puritanical opinion? We ought not to have to be so modest among the four of us…Margaret, are you listening?"

"Perhaps your right," Meg answered, after spending several moments looking out across the cavern with Uncle Ezra's spyglass, "but has that man with the telescope, on top of the palace before us, ever looked upon the likes of you?"

Jo dashed back behind the boulder, her face flushed nearly purple, as the other girls looked off at the strange palace, about a half-mile ahead of them, each taking a turn with the spyglass, noticing a bearded young man on top of the oddly inverted building, looking out at them with his telescope.

"Say, Jo," Amy said, "the man looks an awful lot like a grown-up version of the Laurence boy who lives next door to us. When are you going to get up the nerve to speak to him?"

"Oh, dear God in Heaven," Jo exclaimed, "must you mention Laurie, right now? I want a turn with the spyglass, as soon as I get dressed, so I can see Peeping Tom for myself…Beth, be a dear and help me tie my dress. I'm too nervous to hold my hands steady. Oh, the sheer embarrassment!"

"He does favor Laurie, somewhat," Beth said, and she handed Jo the spyglass and set to work on tying up the dress, "and he is rather handsome…but his eyes aren't near as friendly. In fact, I would call them lifeless and cold, but I leave it to you to decide…sister dear, you forgot your chemise."

"I had to dry myself with something, for crying out loud. Now, let's get a look at my admirer…he is a bit handsome, but you're right about the eyes. They remind me of a tuna hung up in the market. His robes are luxurious, though, with the pure gold threads and the strange red designs embroidered all around."

"Do you suppose he's a romaine Catholic," Amy asked.

"Yes, dear," Jo answered. "He's the patron saint of lettuce, if he is, indeed, a Roman Catholic."

"Then, how did he happen to roam into this cave," Amy countered, laughing at her own pun.

"We'll soon find out," Jo said, "for he is beckoning us to join him in his palace. We ought not to be rude, for we are guests in his world, after all—now, come back here, Beth! You needn't be such a scaredy cat, with all your sisters here."

Beth, standing at the foot of the stone staircase, said, "What if he's the one who caused the disappearance of Miss Fitzgerald? Do we want to share in her fate? Shouldn't we go back and ask Marmee's permission, first?"

"He must have a beautiful palace," Meg said. "I would love to see what beautiful things he has in his home. I vote 'aye'! We must graciously accept his invitation, in light of the fact he has gazed upon our sister's indecency, and therefore, he may be forced to propose marriage to her."

"Yes, you must apologize for offending his eyes," Amy said, sticking her tongue out at Jo. "I also vote we go to the palace. I can only imagine what wondrous works of art he must own."

"Well, I shan't be able to look him in the eye," Jo said, "but, it's only meet and proper that we make our way to the palace. I most certainly hope the question of marriage does not arise. Now, let there be no more talk of my indiscretion. Come, Beth, and take my hand. We won't let anyone…or anything harm you."  
"Such as that horrible flying creature coming back to us?" Beth exclaimed, taking cover behind Jo, as the otherworldly being reappeared before the girls. "Why won't that foul thing leave us alone?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4—The Baron's Palace**

"Please do not be afraid," the creature replied, "for I mean you no harm. The memories of who I was, and where I came from, have been blotted out by the Baron. I do remember, though, that I was once a visitor to this Abandoned City you were exploring. The Baron, whom you are about to visit, transformed me into this being while I was trying to prevent him from taking my wife captive. I have spent countless ages fluttering about this underground prison. Please follow me, for I know the safest way into the palace, if you still have the desire and the courage to accept his invitation."

The girls left behind their knapsacks, sunhats, and the picnic basket at their campsite, and followed their Nameless Guide. They walked through the cave—single file, Jo in front, Meg bringing up the rear, the younger ones in the center-as though they were walking through the ruins of an ancient cathedral, taking in the dazzling reflections off the multi-colored crystals growing on the stalagmites, stalactites, and pillars, too excited and awe-struck to question how or why there was any light in the cavern. The air was cool and damp, yet fresh, adding to the pleasantness of the half mile or so walk to their destination. In the center of the natural marvels stood the golden palace, shining like the sun in a cloudless, twilight sky, with no windows, doors sealed shut, and no sign of the so-called Baron.

As they began the final ascent to the palace, the Guide veered to their right, and said, "Please take heed of the cavern and the mud pool, over here. Many explorers, who have found the Baron's door locked, have attempted to gain entrance to the palace by that route. None have returned. Now, follow me up the left-hand path, and to the top of the palace. There is an empty, unguarded room with a secret entrance, if only you are able to find it. There, you can find your way into the Baron's home, safely."

As the creature led them to the rooftop, Jo said, "Well, ladies, what are we waiting for? To the palace we go!"

After the beautiful stroll through the cave, the secret room disappointed the sisters, its bare walls and dirt floor stripping it of any intrigue and wonder. They simply looked at one another, shrugged their shoulders, and set to searching for the entrance, each girl taking one of the four corners of the room, taking the Nameless Guide's words to heart: if only they could find the prized entrance. For Jo's sake, none of the other sisters made mention of the Baron's telescope that stood in the center of the room.

Several minutes of fruitless searching went by, when Jo suddenly blurted out, "Hey, girls, I think I found something! There's a small passageway within my corner of the room, and there's a faint light at the other end. I'll be right back." The others watched her step forward into a dark niche, and several moments later, heard her screams trail off into the distance. Without hesitation, Beth followed her favorite sister into the darkness, and soon gave out a brief shriek.

"Come on, you two," she called out, after a few tense moments of silence. "Jo and I are fine. There's a sliding floor, about five or six paces into the niche. It's quite fun to slide into the palace. It's so beautiful, here! Oh, do hurry, both of you!"

Meg and Amy, holding each other's hands, took four steps forward, sat on the ground, and pushed themselves down the steep, curving slide. After their eyes adjusted to the brightness of the palace, upon reaching the bottom of the slide, they saw Jo and Beth standing between a wall of artwork and an emerald table surrounded by gold chairs with red cushions. When they came forward, they found themselves on the balcony of the palace, with a small staircase on their right, an oddly caged room with mirrored panels on their left, and a second small staircase at the other end of the floor. Looking down, they could see the marble floor of the great hall, with a mosaic of a rainbow encircling a black hole, the grand staircase carpeted in scarlet, and the top of a statue at the staircase's landing. From the center of the ceiling hung a globe of light of unknown origin.

Turning around, they joined Jo in looking over the works of art, for Beth had gone into a small room near the far staircase. It was an odd collection, ranging from Greek goddesses to unearthly beings, including a green being with what appeared to be an octopus on its face, but the portrait of a regal woman, in the center of the gallery, arrested the attention of the sisters.

"She's frightfully gorgeous, an absolute work of art all by herself," Amy exclaimed.

"She must be some sort of queen," Meg said, "for she looks so dignified, so ladylike. I imagine she had all sorts of nice things, had all sorts of servants for her every need, and never lacked money, like we sometimes do."

"Who is it, do you suppose?" Jo asked. "She looks to be Persian, or maybe Babylonian. How romantic! I am sure glad you suggested visiting this place, Meg. Don't you find the table to be simply exquisite?"

The three girls jumped nearly a foot off the ground, when a man's voice said from beside them, "I thank you most sincerely for your complements of my palace—oh, please forgive me for frightening you. I suppose it would have been proper of me to allow you to enter through the front door, but I wanted to amuse you with the secret, sliding entrance, which the nameless guide of this cavern led to you, successfully. Allow me to introduce myself: I am the Baron Nacumem, lord of this underground realm. I hope the tall lady will forgive me for my indiscretion, earlier."

"I suppose I should not have been so immodest, my lord," Jo answered, her face as red as her dress, "but I had assumed there were no men in the cave, and I didn't think my own sisters would be so outraged over a bath. My name is Josephine March, by the way. The girl in the pink dress is my older sister, Margaret, or Meg for short, and the blonde girl in the calico is my baby sister, Amy. Now, where did our other sister, Elizabeth—we all call her Beth—run off to?"

Beth ran out of the room, straightening the pleats in her yellow dress with black trimming, and without noticing the Baron, announced, "There's a most wondrous room, over there: An _indoor_ outhouse! Complete with a sink and the prettiest smelling soap you ever smelled. And there's the softest sheets of tissue paper, instead of last year's almanacs, for cleaning up..._who is he?_" Beth's face nearly turned ashen, as she buried herself behind Jo in sheer horror, having blurted out intimate information in front of a man other than her Papa.

"Why don't I go get refreshments, and let the awkwardness subside for a bit," said the Baron. "I've never seen such a reaction to my washroom. I shall return."

After all the sisters visited the indoor outhouse, and relayed the Baron's story to Beth, he returned with a bowl of violet sherbet and a decanter of pale orange liquid, immediately offering Beth a glass as a peace offering. Beth's eyes sparkled as she took a sip, prompting Meg to take the glass and sample it for herself.

"If your nerves are calmed, now," she said, "and you feel as happy as you look, then perhaps you have had enough. Dear Sir, our mother and father do not approve of us drinking spirits, except in small amounts for illness or nerves. I don't mean to be rude, but we can't go against our parents' wishes, especially when we are not in their presence."

"Oh, Merry Christmas to you, too, mother hen," Jo snapped. "May Amy and I have one sip, before you snub the Baron's hospitality? Must we always play Puritan, no matter where we go, or what we do?"

"I'll forgo my sip of wine," said Amy, as she lapped up her bowl of sherbet, while Jo snagged the golden goblet away from Meg, and took a hearty draught. "You should try this violet ice; it tastes like what you'd think violets would taste like, if it's at all possible, and now, I somehow feel pretty…as pretty as this table. Where did you obtain this table, sir?"

"This table comes from another world," said the Baron, as he finished serving the sherbet, "a world where precious gems grow as large as your mountains and boulders, here on your planet, Earth. Don't look so surprised, my dear ladies. There are many worlds, in this universe, worlds that make yours look dull and humdrum. If you Earthlings only knew what lay beyond your limited knowledge and technology, you would shudder with fear and desperation, but yet I see, before me, four little women who would take delight in the terrible wonders of the cosmos, without regard for the terrible void and the crawling chaos sitting sentinel at the center of the universe."

The sisters looked at each other in uncomfortable silence, not knowing how to respond to the Baron's speech, before Jo asked, "Baron, sir, who is the woman in the main portrait? She is gorgeous, with a beauty transcending space and time."

"It is a painting of Queen Vashti of Persia," he answered. "She disobeyed her husband, King Ahausereus, and was banished from his court for refusing to obey his orders to appear before his friends and councilors, at the end of one of his generous and sumptuous banquets. Rather a waste of beauty and charm, don't you think?"

"It wasn't an entire waste," Beth replied, "for it cleared the way for Esther to become queen of Persia, and to use her position to save the Jewish people from the evil designs of Haman."

The Baron laughed, as though he knew all about the story of Esther and Haman, but simply replied, "The Earth deity is a mighty deity, indeed. It seems to me no matter what kind of trouble His people get into, He is always there to save them from annihilation. Of all the deities of the cosmos, He is the most protective of His subjects. I am surprised He has been able to withstand Azathoth, and to keep Cthulhu submerged in your watery depths, although he shall soon arise, again. Perhaps you have seen his portrait, the green being with the tentacles protruding from his face?"

"Yes, sir," Amy said, "we couldn't help but notice that most fearsome monster situated next to Bronzino's _Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time_. Your gallery is oddly arranged, sir. Why this pairing, if we dare to ask?"

"Why, you are quite the art expert, for one your age," the Baron observed. "Perhaps you have noticed the old woman, in the background on the left? My interpretation is she is all too aware of the transitory illusion of beauty and of vanity, and perhaps being beautiful herself, once upon a time, she is lamenting the loss of her beauty and is now condemned to deal with her own mortality. And, here, you have Cthulhu, one of the timeless Old Ones, who care nothing for fleeting pleasures, looking upon them with indifferent amusement, but rather, of the ebbs and flows of eons beyond our imaginations, whose center is nothing but a void…You are looking intently at the statue below us, Miss Beth. Shall we go down, and a have a look?"

After the girls finished their refreshments, they made their way downstairs. Jo, the first one to the second floor, ran past the statue and exclaimed, "Leaping lizards, it's a library! It's about ten times the size of Aunt March's collection." She ran towards the library, but as she reached the threshold of the doors, she was knocked backwards onto the floor. Beth helped her up, wondering at the invisible wall blocking the entrance, and they joined the others at the statue. They looked up at the skeleton of some unearthly, Cyclopean being, hideously cold-natured from the menacing stance it took, appearing to guard the library very closely.

"The dread god of chaos: Azathoth," the Baron said, "the one who is and yet is not. He is the one who provides an illusion of order, but yet eliminates definition, and unleashes the crawling chaos of the universe. He is the composer of the mindless, monotonous flute dirges emanating from his throne; again, lack of feeling, yet complete order in chaos. The Cyclopean eye helps him to watch, and be alert, for the signals needed to sweep the universe into his void of orderly chaos, where all worlds will crumble before his throne.

"Here, before you, is the library which contains the secrets of the various worlds of the universe. I cannot let down the force-field protecting these treasures, until the four of you swear allegiance to Azathoth, and to myself, his devoted servant."

"Are you insane?" Meg asked. "You dare to ask four young women to abandon their Christian faith, the true Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and replace our God with your god of chaos and nothingness?"

"I would rather be validated," Amy declared, "than kneel down before strange gods. I don't care how much wine and violet-colored ices you offer us. Our faith is priceless, far exceeding the emerald table upstairs."

"How can you withhold knowledge, from others," asked Jo, "by forcing them to bow down to strange gods? The Bible—the greatest book ever written, for it is inspired by God—clearly teaches us we will have no other gods before our God, and that His Son, Jesus, is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It is simply demonic, and blasphemous, of you to use your hospitality to force us to give allegiance to idols, in order to visit your stupid library."

"Do you really believe for a moment," the Baron asked, "that this pathetic little deity of yours even exists? You young ladies struck me as being too intelligent for such a childish religion. This lovely little philosophy you call Christianity is but a smoke-screen protecting many of you Earthlings from the cold, terrible facts of the universe, and of the unshakable reality of the Old Ones. Your world is but a marble in the hands of Azathoth, and all the love humankind can muster together will not save you from the creeping chaos, not even if Love was to be embodied in a Person, as your philosophy claims."

"Love Divine has conquered the world," Beth said, "and I trust it is good enough for my sisters and me to have the Truth in our hearts. Perhaps, Your Highness, we shall someday have the intelligence to put outhouses inside our homes, but for now, we place our minds, and our hearts, in the hands of Christ Jesus, the embodiment of Love."

The Baron sighed, shaking his head sadly at his obstinate guests. With a flick of his hand, he motioned the sisters back up the stairs, and pointed them into the room of mirrors. They walked in, with Meg and Amy promptly fixing their hair, Beth trying to avoid looking at herself, and Jo turning to stare down the Baron.

"What kind of room is this?" she asked. "Is this an object lesson on vanity? Hey, what are you doing?"

The Baron flipped a switch, hidden within the balcony rail, shutting the caged door on the girls. They tried to open the door, but found it locked.

"I have offered many people, from a few worlds, the same offer I gave you," said the Baron, "and I have sent them to immediate punishment for their refusal. I can't bring myself to punish four beautiful and intelligent girls, so therefore, I will let you try to survive in my subterranean nightmare world. If you can get out of the Chamber of the Tombs, then greater hells await you. But, I assure you of this: A good time will be had by all! Enjoy the elevator ride down. The door will unlock at the bottom of the shaft." The Baron chuckled, pressed another button, and sent the girls in a freefall down, and out, of the palace.


End file.
